New (Used) Sov GT owner questions

[Hawk66]

So I realized that 99% of my hunting was at the beach and that of my two detectors, a White's DF and MXT, one was really not a great choice for the beach. Given all the great things I have read about the Sov GT I decided to pick one up used.

Interesting machine. Yesterday was my first day out. Found a 10k gold class ring at 12" and a small silver ring at about 9" and a handful of clad. That was very good, and I detected longer than planned just because I was having fun. Only one hair pin!!!

However, the whole time I found myself wondering if everything was working as it should. So I am coming here to the experts to check a couple things. I was running at 0 disc, 0 notch, auto sen, mask on, threshold. Every time I touched the ground or even a piece of kelp the machine would false loudly. If I set the coil on the ground while digging it you just continuously chirp and hoot. As long as this is normal I don't have any problem with it, good tones repeated and were there to be found. But as this is my first Minelab, and used to boot, I just can help wondering if that is normal behavior? I didn't try manual sensitivity as I had to go to about 2 o'clock to get a stable threshold and that seemed to be giving up too much. I'd rather just have to sweep carefully and get a bit more depth than give up the depth for stability. At least I think that's what would have happened.

Tips also appreciated.

 

[ZOFCHAK]

The falsing issue is a bit unusual while running in Auto. I would check the coil wires for any loose connections or issues with the coil cable. You can do this by handling different parts of the wire, while listening for any reaction. Also make sure that the coil cover is clean, and check for damage to the coil itself.


On my Elite (Similar to the GT) 2 O'clock gives me much better depth than using auto in most situations. I'm not saying it's the same on all machines, but don't discount the manual settings so quickly.

 

[synthnut]

Hawk,
Welcome to the fold !!..... You picked a great machine ..... Congrats on your finds !!......There is almost no bad settings on this machine .... If your beach is highly mineralized and in wet sand, and black sand it's pretty easy to figure that it is , you may not be able to run your Sensitivity too high .....Not to worry ....2 o'clock is far from a bad setting ...You will STILL hit some deep tragets at that setting ....With Iron Mask ON you will gain a small amount of depth, but in highly mineralized sand/soil it will talk a little more than usual ....If you wanted to switch to Iron Mask OFF , your machine would have quieted down some .... Again , you're really not giving up a lot going to 2 pm .....Read thru some of the threads here ....We have all pretty much come to the conclusion that if you run your Sensitivity too hgh , that you will end up with a "Headlights in the fog syndrom " .... Too much bad feedback so to speak coming back to the coil and not being able to disern good targets .... When hitting your targets , try bringing your Sensitivity up higher just to hear how things sound ....If the Sand or Soil will allow it , you might get a better signal ...Sometimes higher Sensitivity does not mean a better signal ...You will have to do a trial and error scenario until you get to know the Sovereign .....It will give you a very telling tone ......This is a good group here , and we all participate quite a bit ....There are some GREAT threads here of what we have found when running this machine .....We slice and dice quite a few topics , so feel free to explore the Search function ...There's a LOT of good reads .....Enjoy !!.....Sincerely, Jim

 

[Hawk66]

Definitely more black sand than usual. We had a few days of higher swell combined moderately high tides that produced a small cut and a lot of sand movement. I could actually see the trails of black sand in some spots. I will mess around with the sensitivity next time out then and see how I do. The mask eliminates so many signals that the long quiet periods make me nervous I'm missing good targets.

I will test the coil wires tonight. Hope that's not the case, I was happy enough with the finds that I already gave the guy good feedback on Ebay lol.

 

[deanosaur1972]

I could actually see the trails of black sand in some spots

I think you would have been better running at 2 o'clock rather than auto - in those conditions of kelp and the black sand level totally messed up 'auto' was probably having a hard time adjusting to the conditions as they would not have been the same from swing to swing. If you could hold the threshold at 2 o'clock I think it would have made life easier. Mind you, two rings in the bag............ that's excellent.

Its a great machine, only had mine a month and I am delighted - so there will be many more answers more qualified than mine on here....

My GT doesn't like kelp (seaweed) either. I am totally jealous of those conditions at the beach by the way....... still too much sand at the moment in the wrong places for me at the moment.

HH

 

[Critterhunter]

Just don't test the coil around your house. You need to be a good bit away from any power lines and such in order for the machine to run stable. Then just wiggle the cord as you go from the base to the connector. Set sensitivity at about 2PM while testing this. Might have to go as low as 3PM if there is nearby RF noise. Auto sometimes will detect just as deep as about 2PM on the dial but that can change due to stray RF noise and ground content. In fact, I recently found at one beach that even the lowest manual was a higher sensitivity than Auto. That was a first for me, as most of the time it tunes to some where between 3 and 2PM on the dial. Best way to check your sensitivity is by sticking a dime in the sand at say 7 to 9" deep. Play with sensitivity and see what gives the easiest/best ID that will stay in place. If you can see that over a wide range of the sensitivity dial then stick the coin another 2 or 3" deep and it should narrow things down. When it's too high you'll find the ID doesn't want to stay in place and wanders randomly more on you, or even that the target will null out. If it's too low you've find it takes more wiggle work (do fast/short wiggles over it) to get it to climb to 180. What you are shooting for is a setting that produces the best ID with the least amount of work, and won't wander off on you.

Many are advocates of running sensitivity as high as it will remain stable. I mainly believe that only provides best depth in lower minerals, but just the same you can try that method. Sweep around for a few minutes and notice if the threshold is nulling out. If it is continue to sweep over the same place where it nulls. If it comes and goes then it's not iron and your sensitivity is too high, but if it's always there than that's iron and you can try going higher with sensitivity. Remember, too high (random nulling) will often hurt you more than a bit too low in terms of providing best depth and target ID. With my buried dime test it always ends up being much lower than what's the edge of stability.

The falsing issue is either due to a short in the cable, loose connector, but more than likely you've got junk in your trunk as far as something being under the coil cover. Take it off and clean it out. Even sloushing around water in there can cause that kind of reaction. Many of us ditch the coil cover and put spray on bed liner on the bottom of the coil. Problem gone and now the coil is lighter too. Still, at some sites I've found what you describe to happen. You touch the coil to the ground and it "bands" or falses for a second. Just the way it goes some times, but more often than not that's due to too high of sensitivity setting. Also, it's not unusual for the machine to false while it's sitting on the ground because the coil is in the air now and so more prone to picking up stray RF noise. To counter that I often throw it into PP mode and it usually shuts the machine up until I'm done digging my target. Really, when that happens it's often a sign that you are probably riding the edge of two high of sensitivity setting. I see you said you were in Auto. Well, the odd thing is that when the coil is in the air Auto I think is "searching" and re-tuning it's self for stability. Often going to a low manual setting will keep the machine from getting funky while it tries to calibrate sensitivity to the "air load" you are in while the coil is in the air. Compare Auto to manual on a buried dime for a specific site and see what gives. 2, 3, or even the lowest manual on any given day might still be higher than Auto. A good way to compare is raise the sensitivity as high as it will go while remaining real stable. Now stick a dime in the ground until you can just ID it hardly. Then flip over to Auto and see if it gets that coin easily too. If it does then on certain days you'll find that Auto is even higher than the highest stable manual setting. I believe that's more due to constantly changing ground content that a manual setting can't change with, where as Auto will follow the changing conditions almost like an Automatic ground tracking.

 

[kered]

all my detectors sing out over kelp, its a nice gold tone too, even the Etrac. Thought it might be just local

 

[Critterhunter]

One other thing to check- Did you make sure your coil wire isn't flopping in the air? Keep it tight to the shaft and get it as far away from the coil as fast as possible (straight line all the way up until behind the grip, then coil it around). Secure it with velcro about every 8" going up the shaft too. But, some days for some odd reason I'll get that false coil "bang" if I touch the ground here and there. It's just the way it goes under certain ground conditions, but very rare for me anyway so never a big problem.

I see you are stepping up from a DFX and MXT. I know somebody who has owned both of them (well, a DFX and M6, which is pretty much a MXT) that I hunt with. Watched, heard, and read what they can do in the field compared to other machines. Let's put it this way...I'd rather own an "old" QXT Pro or a 6000 Pro XL than a DFX, and I'd even take a MXT over one as well. On the other hand, I'd prefer an M6 over a MXT (more tones), but I wouldn't take all three of them in trade for my GT. Well maybe, because I could sell them all off, buy another GT, and still have money left over. You've got the deepst machine on the market and the best gold ring ability as well. Just give it time to teach you what it can do. You'll never go "white" again, I promise you.

 

[goodmore]

You fail to mention what coil you were using. Or if you did I just plain brain farted on it. I have two areas of thought.
One would be a bad coil.
Two would be EMI

I know some beaches (near Buildings or Amusement rides) my detector becomes unstable. This happens more with a bigger coil. Since you are new to Minelab I will tell you that multi Frequency detectors pick up EMI easier than others.

Trying another coil may help. Can you borrow one from somebody? Have them try yours?

What you described happens if you run w/ too much sensitivity. That it happened to you in Auto is puzzling. You did have it clicked in Auto? Right beside auto is balls to the wall. It has to click.

I would rather have it be a coil than the box. Good luck to you. Don't give up on the Sovereign.

 

[synthnut]

Goodmore ......Good point about the "click" ....I made that very same mistake with a Safari when i got it ..... What a difference that would make on the Sovereign !!! .....Going from Max Sensitivity to Auto .....Talk about night and day difference .....Jim

 

[Hawk66]

Just and update.

Coil was bad so I ordered a 10x12 SEF that got here yesterday and that fixed everything. Downside is I now have a used Sov for the price of new but that's the chance you take sometimes.

Just returned the ring I found to the owner minutes ago, so that was pick me up!

 

[plugger]

n/t

 

[synthnut]

That's a great story .....Sorry you had to spend the additional money for a new coil , but you surely picked a GOOD ONE !!!...... That was really nce that you gave that girl back her ring .....GOOD KARMA .....May your finds be as rewarding as this one from now on !!.....Jim

 

[Critterhunter]

That should have been worth one date with her. Let us know how you like the 12x10. I think you are going to love it. Did you wiggle the cable on your coil to see if it has a short? Easy enough to fix if you know how to troubleshoot and do a little soldering.

 

[Hawk66]

Probably had 20 years on her, not that I would have said no. I did like the look on her face when I asked if anyone had told her about the finder fee. I could see her thinking "uh oh here it comes," but when I told her it was a photo she laughed.

I think its in the coil not the cable. I will have to try again to be sure. I did notice that the nut on the coil was only "finger" tight so I was wondering if it might have had water moving around in the coil. I loosened nut and left it in the sun for a day figuring I would cook it out. Didn't make a bit of difference.

I pick the 10x12 based on the post here. So far so good, no stability problems but bad timing on my hunt left me in mostly dry sand last night. Trying again today at a different beach, but will be there on a high tide again, so no real wet sand testing until Monday or Tuesday.

 

[jbow]

Sounds like the coil may be bad but... obviously it is working really well... I would not send it in if it is getting that sort of depth in auto but I might borrow or buy another to compare it to.

I can usually run my sens way up on a Floroda gulf side beach. Inland I usually run it around 2:30 or sometimes in auto but I think the lower manual may be a little better, sometimes I can run it up to 12 or maybe 11:30 but not usually... but on a nice sand beach I can run it high with no falsing.

Did you clean the cover out?

J